Bride of the Solway (29 page)

'I...I have to believe you do, for you have told me so. And I know you would not have allowed me to make love to you if you did not. That gift was the greatest proof of love a man could receive. Do you mean to marry me? Truly?'

'If you are sure that you want me for your wife. Only if you are absolutely sure. I should have told you about my mother before, when you proposed the first time. I should have given you the chance to withdraw then. What if our children were tainted with madness?'

Ross took her by the shoulders and shook her. Not violently, but enough to make his point. 'By Jove, Cassie Elliott, you are a stubborn woman. How many times do I have to tell you that your mother was not a lunatic and that there is no taint of madness to be carried through to future generations? You are a perfectly normal young woman—though as stubborn as a Spanish mule—and a traitor's son, such as I, would be
honoured
to take you as his wife.'

A tiny smile hovered at the corner of her mouth. 'Very well then, Captain Graham, son of a traitor, I accept your offer of marriage.'

Ross wanted to shout his triumph from the rooftops. She had accepted him. Truly accepted him at last! And in the full knowledge of his family's murky past. He felt as if a huge burden had been lifted from him. There could be no doubt, now, that she did love him, in spite of what he was. He was truly blessed.

He resisted the temptation to kiss her again. He wanted her too much. If he kissed her now, there was a real risk that they would end up tangled among the box hedges, making love in full view of Sir Angus's household. He must now try to behave as a gentleman should, curbing his overwhelming desire until they were safely wed.

And that must be soon. Very soon.

Tucking her arm under his once more, he led her through the garden. 'We must be wed as soon as possible, Cassie. I shall ask Sir Angus to allow us to be married from this house. That would be the safest course. You will still be in danger until my ring is on your finger. I would do it tomorrow, if only we could get a special
licence
. But that is impossible, so far from London.'

She squeezed his fingers and looked up at him with mischief in her eyes. 'We could always go across the border to Gretna Green.'

'No, ma'am, we could not.'

'Oh? Why not? It would be just as quick as a special
licence
.'

'Lord preserve me from logic-chopping women,' he said with a grin. 'There are at least two good reasons, madam.' He took a deep breath and began to count on his fingers, like a tutor explaining a lesson to a particularly dim child. 'First, because it is dangerous for you to set foot in Scotland without being safely wed. And second, because of the damage to your reputation from a Gretna wedding. Just imagine—an innocent young lady carried off to Gretna, obviously the dupe of the unscrupulous half-pay officer she had married, all unaware that he was the son of a traitor.'

Cassie's eyes widened at that. She made as if to speak, but then shut her mouth again without saying a word. A tiny frown marred her beautiful face.

He pulled her closer. 'You do understand, don't you, my dear?' 'Yes,' she said softly. 'You are right. A Gretna marriage could well damage your reputation, and we—' 'My reputation?'

'Yes, of course. And I will not permit that to happen. Everything must be done with the utmost propriety.'

He shook his head. 'I can see that marriage to you is going to be something of an adventure, Cassie. Even if you do promise to love, honour and obey.'

'I am sure you will never require me to do anything
idiotish
, so there will be no call for me to break my vow, will there?'

'
Idiotish
?' He struck his forehead with his open palm, trying not to smile in response to the wicked glint in her eyes. 'You have my full permission, ma'am, to disobey any command of mine that should prove to be
idiotish
—'

'Oh, good.'

'—in the opinion of any right-thinking man.'

Cassie burst out laughing. Her joy was so clearly written on her beaming face that Ross put his hands on her trim waist, picked her up and whirled her round and round.

'Stop, stop! You are making me dizzy. Put me down, you impossible man!'

He did so, setting her on her feet but leaving his hands where they were. 'You make me dizzy just looking at you, my dear one. And the touch of you...' he squeezed her waist gently '.. .the touch of you drives me wild. Oh, Cassie, if you knew how much I want you, here and now, you would certainly run for cover.'

She did nothing of the sort. Instead she pressed her body against him, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. 'I shall not run from your passion, Ross,' she said huskily. 'Not ever.'

Ross groaned aloud. He could not help it. The picture conjured up by her words was just too tempting. His whole body was now humming with desire. A few moments ago, he had been impatient for Sir Angus's business to be over so that they could share their joy with him and begin to plan their wedding. Now, painfully aroused as he was, Ross could only pray that Sir Angus would be further delayed.

'Oh, God, Cassie, do you know what you are doing to me?'

She smiled. It was a smile filled with knowledge. And satisfaction. She knew exactly what she was doing. And she was proud of it.

Ross stopped fighting his own desires. She was offering herself for his kiss. What man in his right mind would refuse?

To his surprise, it was not a kiss of passion that they shared. It was a kiss of much deeper meaning—commitment, and mutual devotion. It went on and on. Ross was feeling weightless, as if he could float away to Arcadia with this amazing woman in his arms. Never, in all his life, had the touch of a woman affected him so profoundly.

When at last Ross broke the kiss, he held her into his body as if he could shield her from all the world, as if to make them one. And Cassie leaned into him, trusting, loving, giving of herself. For a long time, neither moved.

'
Hurrumph
!'

They sprang apart at the sound. Even in the deep shadow of the house, Ross could see that Cassie had turned bright pink. Poor girl, she blushed so very easily. It would be a joy to tease her, once they were man and wife.

'Humph!'

In spite of her blushes, Cassie was clearly not to be daunted. She was brimming over with happiness, and she was determined to share it. She tucked her hand possessively into Ross's and tugged him towards the steps, where Sir Angus stood in the open French window. 'Godfather! Oh, Godfather, you shall be the first to learn of our happiness. Ross and I are to be wed, as soon as may be. Oh, Godfather, you cannot believe how happy I am!'

When Sir Angus did not speak, Cassie stopped in her tracks. 'Are you not glad, sir? Oh, please do not be cross. I do not mean to shun your generous offer of shelter, but you see, I love him. And I want more than anything in the world to be his wife.'

Sir Angus smiled, but it looked a little forced. 'I am pleased for you, my dear child. And I congratulate you, Captain Graham. I hope you will be very happy together.'

'Oh, thank you, Godfather.' Cassie kissed him on the check. It was rather more demure than her previous effort, Ross was glad to see.

'But, come inside. Come inside, both of you. We should not be discussing such momentous events on the garden step.' Sir Angus turned back into the room.

Ross put a protective hand in the small of Cassie's back and shepherded her inside. He sensed danger. His soldier's awareness had not deserted him. There was something very wrong. But would Sir Angus tell him what it was? Ross could feel the tension tightening his gut. He had only just secured Cassie for his own, and until the knot was tied in church, there was still a risk that she might be snatched from him. It was a thought he was not prepared to contemplate.

All three resumed their seats, but it was different from before. Cassie was leaning into Ross and clearly no longer cared whether Sir Angus noticed or not. She was relaxed and overflowing with happiness. Ross, meanwhile, was too worried to let his feelings show. He felt, somehow, that Sir Angus was about to deal a blow to their plans. The old man was sitting very upright in his chair, his hands tightly gripping the arms. Unlike Cassie, he was far from relaxed.

A tense silence reigned for several moments. Ross determined to break it. 'Sir, I am sorry that it will not prove possible for your goddaughter to come to live with you as you wish. She—'

'Think nothing of that, my boy,' Sir Angus said with a thin smile. 'I take back everything I said about marrying where one is bid. If Cassie is happy with you, then you have my blessing.'

'Thank you, sir.'

'Oh, thank you, Godfather,' Cassie breathed at the same moment.

'But, Cassie, my dear—' Sir Angus had clasped his hands in his lap and was now staring down at them. 'My dear, I have dreadful news. Oh, Lord, there is no way to soften this blow. My dear child, I have to tell you that your brother is dead. He drowned. Yesterday. In the Solway.'

Cassie's eyes widened for a second. Then she struggled to her feet. 'It is my fault,' she whispered. 'I wished him dead. I prayed for it. And it has happened. Oh, God forgive me.'

'Cassie! Child!'
  

It was too late. Cassie had sunk into a dead faint.

'Don't look so concerned, my boy. The doctor says she will soon recover.'

'Of course, sir.' Ross's response was automatic, but he was not so sure. Her body would recover, certainly, but her mind? He would never forget her fervent prayer for deliverance and for the damnation of her half-brother. No doubt she would never forget it either. And she would carry the guilt for the rest of her life. It made no difference that it was not her fault in any way. Her conscience would tell her that it was.

'I am glad of this chance to speak privately to you, however, Captain Graham.'

Sir Angus seemed to have noticed none of Ross's inner turmoil. Nor that the timing of Elliott's drowning did not fit with Cassie's tale of her escape. Good. Ross would not tell Sir Angus the whole truth unless he had absolutely no other choice. Too many grubby secrets had been revealed already.

Sir Angus was absently drumming his fingers on the arm of his chair. 'With Cassie's brother gone, there is no one to act for her. I feel I must take on the role. In the matter of.. .er.. .settlements and so on.'

'Thank you, sir. I am sure Cassie will be most grateful when she learns of your kindness in this. I am not a wealthy man, but I can assure you that we shall be perfectly comfortable. Cassie will not want for anything that is due to her station.' Ross proceeded to a brisk description of his financial position and the settlements he was proposing. By the time he had finished, Sir Angus was beaming with pleasure.

'That is all very satisfactory, sir. Very satisfactory indeed. You say you are not wealthy. Well, well. Let me just say that, by her brother's lights, you are certainly very comfortably situated. Perhaps he should have seized on you as a suitor.'

Ross nodded slightly, but said nothing. Sir Angus's remark was true enough but, in the light of Elliott's death, it was really not a remark a gentleman should have made.

Sir Angus seemed to become conscious of his faux pas for he cleared his throat loudly and abruptly changed the subject. 'It is important that yon understand my goddaughter's financial position, too, Captain Graham.'

Ross looked at him in surprise. 'I had understood that Cassie would come to me with nothing. Nothing at all. Is that not the case?'

'Possibly. But there may be something. The
Langrigg
estate is not entailed. That being so, Cassie should inherit everything. There is no other heir.'

'Ah, yes. I see what you mean.' Ross waited for Sir Angus to continue. He did not wish to appear eager to learn of Cassie's inheritance. If there was actually anything left to inherit.

'There is the
Langrigg
manor and a good deal of land. I do not know how much income it produces. Nor whether it is mortgaged. I should think it may well be. And there are bound to be debts, considerable debts. James Elliott did not invest in his land. He invested only in his own selfish passions. His gambling and his women were very expensive, I believe.'

'I shall pay his debts, of course.'

'Including his gambling debts?'

'Yes,' Ross said flatly. 'He was Cassie's brother. I would not have her suffer the slightest unease because some debts of honour were left unpaid.'

Sir Angus snorted. 'I should find out the extent of them first, if I were you. It might cost you far more than you imagine. You surely would not prejudice your wife's future comfort just to pay her worthless brother's debts?'

'I will investigate the extent of them, as you suggest, sir. But they will be paid.'

Sir Angus did not argue any more. 'Assuming she does inherit the
Langrigg
estate, what will you do with it? Shall you live there?'

'That will depend very much on Cassie. My own estate in Wiltshire is small, but very pleasant. However, if Cassie wishes to spend part of the year at
Langrigg
, I should be happy to agree.'

'Not the winter months, I suggest,' murmured Sir Angus with a hint of a smile.